Mycochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Pleurotus ostreatus mushroom in different growth stages

Pleurotus sp. is a genus of Basidiomycetes widely distributed worldwide, with species that are important not only from the commercial point of view for its nutritional value, but also for their medicinal properties. However, mycochemical studies and the relationship with the antioxidant properties of bioproducts obtained from these mushrooms during different growth stages are still insufficient. In this work, the content of proteins, carbohydrates, reducing sugars, total phenols and flavonoids was determined, as well as the in vitro antioxidant activity (tests of scavenging DPPH and reducing power estimation) of aqueous extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus in different growth stages (primordia and mature fruiting bodies) during the solid fermentation. The content of proteins, reducing sugars and flavonoids was higher in the aqueous extract of mature fruiting bodies, while carbohydrates and total phenols were increased in the extract of primordia. The EC50 values in the DPPH and reducing power assays were 1.72 mg/mL and 3.27 mg/mL for primordia extract and 0.44 mg/mL and 0.48 mg/mL in the case of mature fruiting bodies extract, respectively. The results suggest that the antioxidant properties of Pleurotus ostreatus aqueous extracts (primordia and mature fruiting bodies), reflected the variations in the concentration of bioactive molecules, taking into account the physiological characteristics of the growth phases. This could be useful in designing protocols for obtaining bioproducts from Pleurotus ostreatus with potential applications as antioxidant in food and pharmaceutical industries.